Is the Premier League Outshining La Liga?
Friday, 19 September 08, 02:26 PM · Comments(5)
With the start of the new Champions League campaign, one of the topics that has frequented Spanish commentary and blogs is - Is the Premier League outshining La Liga? Is La Liga are 2nd Tier League? (I don't want to go there, but the same Spanish rags claim that Serie A is a retirement league and will get worse should Ibra or Kaká leave.)
OK, the yahoos from the Spanish rages, exaggerate, freak out and love high drama. They need to fill up their dailies and create news. But it's been awhile since a La Liga team has won the Champions League, Spanish clubs are in debt, and people are worried.
Does the Prem brand better than La Liga? Is the Prem moving towards the NBA mega-sensation and is La Liga far behind? C'mon, La Liga still shows their games at 10pm at nite. This is not conducive to Asia and the the other foreign markets. Do the Spanish teams do a good job of promoting themselves overseas other than the Big Two? Look, Everton has been coming to the US every year and West Ham came over to play this past year. Pompey went to China. These teams are spreading the Prem love and they are NOT the Big Four. Is La Liga doing enough to earn fans and sell shirts? We have the best fútbol, shouldn't that be enough?
Also what about the provincial, club media deals? Is this archaic? Is a league-wide agreement as used in England, more conducive to a strong league?
Deportivo La Coruña's President has said that the future of Spanish football is foreign investment? Do you agree?
Here's my two cents, I think Spain can learn a lot from the Premiership, particularly the media deals and distribution of wealth (even though the richer clubs still get more money due to more appearances on TV and attendances). I also adore the parachute package for teams promoted and relegated. Spain needs something like this drastically. I also think the branding can improve of La Liga, but in moderation. The league as a whole should try and assist in this matter. Why don't they produce and offer Friday preview shows in Spanish? Why aren't some of the Spanish football opinion shows made available, with dubbing or translation to foreign markets?
The infrastructure and organization in Spain needs vast improvement. Why are the games decided sometimes 3 hours before kickoff? How is that conducive to coach potato fans? The technology, camera angles, and TV picture, needs to get to the 21st century. The visuals are appalling. Have you ever compared a Prem or CL game to a La Liga game. The La Liga game pales in comparison.
We need access to more La Liga games on TV or via broadband. Why not offer the other games at a more moderate price? It's difficult for Spaniards to watch non local games, let alone foreigners. This has got to improve. Also access to kits, merchandise, magazines, daily rags would be awesome. Do you know how hard it is to find an Athletic Bilbao kit?
But I like the provincial nuances and local flavor of La Liga and I for one, don't want them to lose this. The play on the pitch is amazing, along with the parity and strength of the mid table teams. The cantera or youth academies keep producing wonderful talent. And there are players that are loyal or don't want to go abroad - see Cazorla, Villa, Silva, Casillas. I don't want foreign investment to come in and ruin La Liga or great an artificial market. We don't need billionaires, just better marketing and business savvy. The Spanish owners already do a fine job sticking their clubs in the red. I also feel that the last remaining socio clubs, need to stay that way - Real Madrid, Barçelona, Athletic Bilbao, etc. It keeps accountability.
But where there is talent on the pitch and in the back office ie managers and technical directors, some will want to go abroad where the money is IE England. But I am not worried about the level of play or the trophies, to me it's all cyclical. The money is in the Prem, but that is a bubble that will burst and a recalibration or reallignment will take place. The Premiership will not always be at the top. Relax.
And honestly I don't want a super league. I don't want to watch just the top leagues or the same teams always winning. That's boring and not what football is all about. We already have the Champions League, World Cup and other tournaments where the cream of the crop rise to the top. Isn't that enough?
OK, those are my thoughts, but I want to hear from you. What do you think? Give us your comments and we'll read them on the podcast. We'd love to hear from you. It's a fascinating topic, that won't go away.
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I think it may ultimately boil down to a linguistic issue, sadly. With English becoming the global esperanto, it's easier to promote the Premier League because access to information is more accessible for fans and investors alike.
Additionally, the structure of some clubs in Spain makes it difficult for foreigners to purchase clubs, at least the sexier clubs. I remember reading somewhere that Abramovich was first interested in Barça and not Chelsea but was turned off because ownership was impossible. The possibility of large injections of foreign cash will sadly flow towards England and not Spain, though this may not be a clear cut 'good thing'.
Would a British migration of talent to Spain promote a spike in interest? No.
I'm not sure what exactly the solution is? Don't know if changing the match schedule hours changes matters as the night-owl start times seem to mainly be flexed on saturdays and not on Sundays, when it seems the bulk of La Liga's teams skirmish for points.
I used to follow the Premier League but then I realized that I was contradicting myself as I really dislike the English National side. Why follow the league if you don't like the side? I'm happy that I found La Liga at the Premier League's expense.
Oh and kudos for the site redesign. Makes it more user accessible.
It seems like an eternity since Barca won the Champions League in 2006. Football is a case of which style you prefer. Man-Liverpool is sweet. Arsenal is awesome to watch. Remember that the Prem have this more Americanized attitude about marketing. With that in mind Real Madrid and Barcelona go to China and (Messi was the jersey that was sold the most in that country) have a huge following in that part of the world.
Here in the States, Manchester and Chelsea weren't the ones jogging and training in Central Park to the awe of everyone there. the teams in England get that end of the business. English players don't want to leave England because that is the only place where they have a shot to be good enough to play and they will be paid what they want. Spain has also become a great exporter of players, just ask the prem league.
Overall, you guys are right. The game is cyclical. I mean 20 years ago, Italy was the epicenter of the game. It became that once again in the mid-2000's when you saw three Serie A teams in the Champions League semis (albeit the final was terrible).
Hi Hoser, thank Hannah for the new format on our site. Spiffy eh?
I for one hope that La Liga stays away from foreign investment. Tho it looks like Mallorca is now going to be owned by an englishman.
I still it is cyclical. La Liga can learn from the marketing of the prem. But believe me when Madrid or Barça comes to the States it is huge, much bigger than a Prem club.
That said the money is in the Prem, which is why all the Brazilians, Spaniards etc are headed that way. But the bubble will burst and where will England be with little to no youth or coach development. We shall see.
5 Comments · Add yours
I teach out in Sevilla, my students know loads about the Premiership, more than me sometimes (but that's not saying much) but why do they know so much? If you ask British kids about La Liga, do they care? do they know who's top of the pile, course they don't, there aren't even any British players over here for them to follow anymore. I agree with you mate, La Liga need to step it up a gear across Europe and definitely in Asia. Get some of the big boys back in La Liga, make more of a title race. Still love it though, and to be honest the hours work well against the Prem so I dont miss any games.
Juanka, I believe that La Liga is the most beautiful incarnation of football. But they need to improve all the things mentioned above to compete with the Prem. Brits don't want to play outside of England. Plus they are overrated and overpriced. Actually Brits do now admire La Liga and watch a lot of games. Sky Sports shows a lot of La Liga and have a great show Revista La Liga, but there is loads of room for improvement.